The Different One

   It's ok if you don't fit in. I've never really fit in anywhere. Not even in my family. Everywhere I go, I'm the odd person out. But Jesus accepts me. I am a part of His family. Even when other Christians exclude me, Jesus is still there for me. He is the only home my heart has ever known. And I'm okay with that. I don't need other people to like me. Well, I used to think I did. But now I've realized something. I am so much better off by being me and doing my own thing than trying to be someone I'm not. It's simply too exhausting to try. And it won't work anyway.
 
  Besides, you are you for a reason. God knew what He was doing when He gave you your quirks and personality. It breaks His heart to see you try to change yourself. He thinks you're wonderful and beautiful just the way you are. He wants to use you as you are. You don't need to change yourself or even be perfect to be used by God.

  In fact, God likes irony. He made David, a lowly and lonely shepherd boy, into one of the grandest kings in all of history. Gideon was the youngest son of a nobody, yet God used him to win of Israel's greatest victories. Think of Moses, the man who stuttered and was not even raised by Israelites. He led the children of Israel out of Egypt. There is example after example of outcast people whom God used in extraordinary ways.

  Sometimes it feels like God is not even listening. But He is. I have to remind myself of that a lot. He is still there even if I cannot hear Him as clearly as I usually do. Just know this. God is always there whether you feel like He is or not. At times it does seem like God is silent. But He speaks in quiet ways too. Sometimes it is the silence that He uses to speak most loudly. Remember, God always hears you, and He is working on a response. It just might not be coming as quickly as you want it to. But He is working for your good, so there is no need to worry.